Outside the Beltway

Several Senators who voted against the Manchin/Toomey background checks bill have suffered in the polls, but it’s unclear if that matters in the long run.

Chuck Hagel will be confirmed, but the campaign against him tells us much about the current state of Republican foreign policy

The GOP’s hopes of taking over the Senate in 2012 have all but slipped away, but there is another option.

Moderate Republicans in the House are starting to become more assertive in voicing their frustrations with how Congress is operating.

Michael Fumento becomes the latest prominent conservative to criticize what conservatism has become.

After having so much influence in 2010, the Tea Party is finding itself adrift in the search for a Republican nominee in 2012.

Facing his own Tea Party challenge, Richard Lugar reminds Republicans of an uncomfortable truth.

Rush Limbaugh, who three years ago said Mitt Romney embodied all three legs of the conservative stool today declared that Romney is not a conservative. He was right both times.

Will 2012 be the Republican version of the 2008 race between President Obama and Hillary Clinton?

Bipartisan seating at the State Of The Union is a pointless act of political theater. Then again, so is the State Of The Union Address itself.

Frustrated that it couldn’t achieve desired environmental legislation despite huge majorities in both Houses of Congress, the Obama administration has decided to govern by executive fiat.

Joe Miller lost the Alaska Senate election by more than 10,000 votes but he’s still fighting.

Nearly four weeks after Election Day, Alaska’s Joe Miller still won’t concede the inevitable.

David Broder, three weeks after the election, explains “What Murkowski’s write-in win says about the electorate.”

Democrats are now confident that they have the votes in the Senate to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, but do they have enough time?

Maine’s Olympia Snowe appears to be the next target of the Tea Party movement, but she is also uniquely situated to retain her seat if she chooses to.

Lisa Murkowski is still miffed that Jim DeMint backed Republican Joe Miller against her in the general election.